Photos from staged reading of “Rhonda’s High-Class Roadkill Chili”

I held a staged reading of RHONDA’S HIGH-CLASS ROADKILL CHILI on Saturday, January 2, 2016 at Showtimers in Roanoke. Here are some photos.

Heather Sexton shows how to make a stage armadillo — one plastic rat, one pineapple fajita, minus the fajita. And something to bind them together.

Here’s the synopsis:

RHONDA’S HIGH-CLASS ROADKILL CHILI
Rhonda has never won anything in her life, so one of her sisters persuades her to enter a chili cook-off. Since time is tight, they decide on a roadkill recipe. Meanwhile, Rhonda’s husband is putting up Christmas lights out of season, because he’s determined to win the town contest that winter. When it turns out his light display is bright enough to be seen from outer space, things get more complicated. Aliens, and comedy, ensue. Cast: Nine, although two of those are bit parts at the end. The main cast is: Three adult females, two teen or pre-teen females, two adult males, and then the two small parts are two non-gender characters, although best played as males.

Now, let’s hit the highlights:

The cast reads over the script.

Everyone starts to figure out the stage.

Dee Dee (Gwyneth Strope, left) and Cee Cee (Emma Sala, right) play two girls in modern-day Texas who desperately wish they were Old West outlaws.

Stevie Holcomb read stage directions.

Rhonda (Heather Sexton) has a lot of aggression to work out. She tries to do this by smashing her way to a fruit salad.

51Hunter (Joel Gruver) thinks he’s spotted an alien.

Instead it’s just Zeke (Tim Kennard) up on the roof, tied up in Christmas lights. It’s April, we might add, but he’s trying to get a head start on winning the town’s contest for the best Christmas lights.

Rhonda has never won anything in her life. Fonda persuades her to enter a chili cook-off, but time is tight, so they go searching for roadkill. From left, that’s Dronda (Kris Sorensen), Fonda (Kelly Anglim) and Rhonda (Heather Sexton).

Dwayne Yancey is a playwright from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. He’s had scripts produced throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain and other locations abroad. For more on his work, contact him directly at dwayneyancey@gmail.com.